Playoff with a second chance
Type a team count or paste a list. Everyone plays round 1, the losers get one more match in a repechage, then the qualifiers go into a knockout bracket. Drawn exactly as SportX draws a real tournament.
What is a playoff with a second chance?
A qualifying round that gives a loser one more chance. In round 1 every team is paired and plays one match. The winners go through at once.
The losers go to the repechage: the loser of match 1 plays the loser of match 2, the loser of match 3 plays the loser of match 4. A repechage winner goes through too; a second loss is out.
The qualifiers go into a knockout bracket, drawn so that a repechage winner does not meet the team that just beat them before the final.
Count the qualifiers
- An even count n: round 1 has n ÷ 2 matches, the repechage half as many (rounded down).
- Qualifiers = round 1 matches + repechage matches. For example 8 teams: 4 + 2 = 6.
- With an odd number of round 1 matches, the last loser has no repechage partner and is out.
- An odd count: the last 3 on the list play a round robin (3 matches) and the top 2 go through.
- Knockout: the qualifiers minus 1 matches.
Frequently asked questions
How many of 16 teams go through a playoff?
12: the 8 round 1 winners and the 4 repechage winners. Round 1 has 8 matches, the repechage 4, then 11 knockout matches.
How are the losers paired in the repechage?
In match order: the loser of match 1 plays the loser of match 2, the loser of match 3 plays the loser of match 4, and so on.
What about an odd number of teams?
Nobody gets a free pass in a qualifier. The last 3 on the list play a round robin in their own group and the top 2 go through. Everyone else plays round 1 and the repechage as usual.
Can a repechage winner meet the team that beat them again?
Not before the final. Two teams that have already met are put in opposite halves of the knockout, so they can only meet again in the last match.
How is it different from double elimination?
Double elimination sends a loser through a whole losers bracket to the final. A playoff with a second chance gives exactly one more match, so it is far shorter and fits as a qualifier before a knockout.